Experimental traffic devices implemented along Beaver Avenue two years ago will become permanent in May due to an overall decrease in traffic accidents and an increase in pedestrian safety.

The devices that were implemented are chicanes, which are lines painted on the street and "break-away" poles used to shift vehicles to the sides of the streets. The chicanes, which were implemented for temporary use in mid-September 2003, slow down traffic while providing more space for business delivery trucks.

The permanent chicanes will be extended an additional block east along Beaver Avenue.

State College Public Works Director Mark Whitfield said the project to make the chicanes permanent will cost about $3,000 to $4,000.

Katie Dawes, owner of Kitchen Kaboodle, 104 W. Beaver Ave., said the combination of heavy pedestrian and vehicle traffic caused Beaver Avenue to be considered fairly dangerous before.

"Many times we would see vehicles and trucks trying to beat the light at Beaver and Allen," she said. "The improvement that has been to everyone's advantage is that traffic has been slowed down."

The number of traffic accidents in that area has decreased 27 percent from the year prior to the implementation of the chicanes, Amy Story, borough engineer, said. "It just keeps everyone's frustration levels down," she said.

The State College Borough Council voted 6-1 Tuesday night to make the traffic devices permanent.

Council Member Cathy Dauler said the Downtown Improvement District requested the chicanes to address problems of delivery trucks parking on Beaver Avenue and blocking traffic.

Whitfield said blocked traffic generated complaints from local businesses that the congestion of the area deterred customers. He added that the main purpose of the chicanes was to provide space for loading and unloading.

"The side benefits were an increase in pedestrian safety and a slow down in traffic," Whitfield said.

The only problem encountered with the current chicanes was in the winter, when the lines that shifted traffic became covered by snow, Whitfield said.

He added that the problem was solved with reflective markers and the repainting of lines twice a year instead of once a year. "I think they're wonderful for pedestrians," Dauler said. "I wish we could have them in other places in the downtown as well."

Borough Council President Tom Daubert, the only council member who objected to permanent chicanes, said he thinks some of the reduction in accidents can be attributed to nodes at the intersection, as well.

Nodes are concrete extensions of the existing curb that reduce the distance pedestrians must walk while crossing the street.